I am living in Bali and have done some sailing around Indonesia on fully crewed rented boats; I have never owned my own boat.

I am considering buying a single hull boat or catamaran which would primarily be used on weekends to sail around bali and the nearby islands. I might also consider some longer voyages to Papua and other no so close islands in Indonesia.

I will hire a full time local skipper to take care of the boat and skipper the boat. He would live on the boat at all times.

I doubt there would ever be more than 2 couples staying on the boat so I need say 2 cabins... I also need space for the skipper.

Welcome, you set very hard questiond to answer. Understand that you will be sailing in South East Asian for some time - which does help ! There are so many beaches - that a catamaran provides both space and the ability to go ashore and barbecue.

Your budget does widen the field for good quality used boats. HongKong, Langkawi- Malaysia and Phuket-Thailand are you best bet to locate a boat to suit your needs.

I am living in Bali and have done some sailing around Indonesia on fully crewed rented boats; I have never owned my own boat.

G'day bloke. You'll find one heck of a lot of nice people in here. Most all are very helpful & well meaning. The greatest source of information that I have ever come across in 50 + yrs of sailing. Great advice from Richard 'MMNETSEA' as his advice is always 'top-shelf'. Me - 'Silver Raven' - (check out my 'profile') also have a leaning (to not lean) for multihulls as does Richard. I am about to redesign/rebuild a Malcom Tennant designed GBE - cause that's all I've got to play with at the moment which is in Darwin (I'm in Cairns) I'm an ex fibreglass boat builder & just out of interest keep my eye on the market (for the last 10 + yrs) would suggest going into 'google' search - type in - used multihulls for sale in (Phuket or Hong Kong) just to narrow the search & you'll find many very nice multihulls in your price range (from $150 K's up) which are not above my taste but well above my available finances - DARN. There is one in particular that I'd buy in a nano-second if I have the cash - that is in your price range - but well out of mine. Oh and it CAN sail - well & even to windward. Been sailing - both cruising & racing (& building) out of Australia for over 40 yrs & have kept my eye on the market. Quick (which is safe - mostly) cats are well priced in Eastern Asia compared to other places & the variety is astonishingly large. I've noticed many styles & lengths & drafts to suit even the most discerning buyer in both mono & multi hulls. Your choice hinges around many factors - such as - do you want the yacht to 'really' sail or just be a mobile traveling out-of-town - get-away vessel? There are quite a few articles in these 'forums' that make mention of wonderful beaches to 'scrub' ones bottom down for those who were fortunate enough to own multihulls - (they have even spruked about enjoying the task with a 'barbie & a tinny' which is one pleasurable way to enjoy an awkward often unpleasant task & that way you get the right job done the best way possible by someone who really cares about the vessel & the cost/value equation. Wasted money always leads to less valuable cruising time & finance, I have experienced. Whilst I'm not trying to sell anything, I feel I could make some valuable contribution however this might not be the place. Take up to much space & many others may not be interested in my comments - so if you wish to contact me directly - please feel free to do so. E-mail addy is jamesaviculture@hotmail.com. Your choice of yacht should follow an extensive self-made list of - - wants, needs & most importantly the - don't wants. You should be able to be very selective at this time as the market is all in the favour of the buyer. Choose carefully & slowly or 'Repent at great cost & for a long time' Good shopping bloke & do keep in touch on 'forums' so we can all learn from your experiences - that'll save some one a lot of grief somewhere down the track. Ciao from down-under, 'jj-geri-hat-trick' - james. Here's to good sailing in the near future !!!!!! jj

Find a place where you can haul it out. It's difficult to find a place in the Pacific that can haul a cat unless you go to Australia or NZ. That's about the only downside.

Throughout South East Asia there are travel lifts that can take catamarans - max beam 8m(26ft) In addition there are slip ways that handle a variety of sea going vessels that can easily haul out catamarans. The countries include Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. Not to forget the ability to beach the catamaran for repairs that can be completed between tides.

I bought my schooner 75ft in Bira, Sulawes, Indonesia. All teak and ironwood. 12 air con berths and ideal liveaboard. we were in Indonesia cruing 2007/2008, now based in Philippines. Send me a email to topsail505@gmail.com if you are interested to buy, and I can post you some pics.